1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a perfect coupling confirming mechanism for an electric connector for connecting contactors of an electric circuit on a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The electric connector has a pair of connector housings, which are mated together to join electrically the male and female contactors contained therein, and is provided with a locking mechanism to secure the electrical connection of the male and female contactors. In coupling the pair of connector housings by hand, the perfect coupling and exact locking of the pair of connector housings are confirmed through the tactile recognition of coupling, the auditory recognition of locking sound and the visual inspection of the appearance of the electric connector. However, since a large number of electric connectors need to be coupled on the vehicle and the working environment is not necessarily favorable for the sensational confirmation of the perfect coupling of electric connectors, it is possible that some electric connectors are not perfectly coupled.
To improve such a disadvantage, an electrically perfect coupling confirming mechanism as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is proposed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open (Kokai) No. 61-186180. This perfect coupling confirming mechanism comprises a pair of electrical contactors b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 contained in a first connector housing a in an electrically separate condition, and an elastic tongue e contained in a second connector housing d to bring forcibly the pair of electrical contactors b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 into contact with each other. The first connector housing a is provided with a protrusion c which prevents the contactors b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 from the forcible contact when the first connector housing a and the second connector housing d are imperfectly coupled.
This perfect coupling confirming mechanism, however, has the following drawbacks. As shown in FIG. 6, since the pair of electrical contactors b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 are disposed close to each other in the first connector housing a and any insulating means is not provided between the pair of electrical contactors b.sub.1 and b.sub.2, it is possible that the electrical contactors b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 remain in contact with each other before the coupling of the first connector housing a and the second connector housing d when either the electrical contactor b.sub.1 or b.sub.2 or both the electrical contactors b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 are deformed or are disposed incorrectly within the first connector housing a. Furthermore, since the elastic tongue e is formed of a synthetic resin integrally with the second connector housing d, the elasticity of the elastic tongue e is dependent on temperature and, under some condition, the elastic tongue e is unable to function properly.